Visa Requirements Thailand

Most visitors on holiday from the West would be eligible for the visa exemption which is granted on arrival.Your passport is stamped on arrival giving you a stay of thirty days in the country. This can be renewed after thirty days by exiting the country and returning and a new stamp will be given. Travellers often go to neighbouring countries to get another stamp. Overstaying means a fine of a 200B - 500B per day.

Important warning
Do not overstay your visa in Thailand, even by a few hours. If you want to stay longer, get the visa extended or do a visa run before you visa expires.

Some travellers may tell you that overstaying your visa by a few days isn’t a problem and that you’ll just have to pay a fine of 500 baht a day. While it is true that you will just be fined if you turn up at the airport or border with an expired visa, if you are discovered with an out-of-date visa in any other circumstances you will be arrested and detained at the Immigration Detention Centre - an exceptionally grim place which Amnesty International has been campaigning to have closed for a long time.

Your detention will continue until you are deported
a process which can take months.

There is a real danger of being caught if your visa is out of date. Thai police sometimes carry out drugs raids on hostels and cheap hotels, and immigration officers also carry out random immigration checks from time to time. You would also have to produce your passport if you were involved in an accident or you reported (or were arrested for) a crime. Don’t take the risk!"

VISAS

Transit visa

This is the thirty day visa that most foreigners are given on entry provided they have an onwards ticket. The cost is 800 Baht and the applicant must have a valid passport, two recent, passport-size photographs, a completed visa application form and evidence of onwards travel such as an air ticket out of the country. This visa is valid for thirty days and can be extended.

Tourist visa

A tourist visa is valid for 60 days and must be applied for in advance. The applicant needs two passport photos and a passport which is valid for not less than six months to apply. The fee is 1,000 Baht and the applicant needs to have a completed application form and an onwards air ticket to apply.

Non-immigrant visa

This visa is required for work or study in Thailand. Requirements are: a valid passport, two passport photos, and one of the following, depending on the reason for entering the country - birth certificate, marriage certificate, a letter from a company or university or an employment contract. The visa costs 2,000 Baht for a single entry and 5,000 Baht for multiple entry. It must be used within three months of issue. Applicants wishing to stay in the Kingdom longer than 90 days, have to file their application either at the Thai consular mission aboard or at the Office of Immigration Bureau in Bangkok.

Diplomatic/Official Visa

This is for people who work at a foreign consul or people who want to take up permanent residence. Applicants need supporting documentation. Aliens can qualify to become residents:

As part of the yearly quota per nationality;

For investment;

For work or business;

If supporting an alien who already has a work permit.

Non-quota Immigrant Visa

This is only granted to aliens living in Thailand who have valid permits to re-enter.

Courtesy Visa

Embassies may upon official request grant a visa to passport holders wishing to enter the kingdom for official purposes.

How to shop on visa for neighboring countries ?

Laos Visa ? It is possible to get a one month visa in one working day. The cost, if you go yourself to the embassy at 8am and collect it in the afternoon should be B1350 (for most western nationalities, cheaper for Asian & Israeli people, more expensive for Canadian, American, Japanese or German). But considering that the embassy is very remote and tricky to get to (Bus No60 B3.5, then taxi B20), you will be better off to leave the work to an agency for a commission of as little as B100-150 (check around). A one month visa should cost B1500 and a 15 days visa B1000.

Myanmar (Burma) Visa ? For this one, most honest agencies will advise you to arrange for the visa yourself as you can get it the same day while this would take them two days. The Myanmar Embassy is in the south of town at 132 Sathorn Nua Rd (boat to Tha Oriental or Tha Sathon then 15mn walk east). Open Mond to Frid 8:30 to 12 and 14 to 16:30. You usually have the visa ready in the afternoon by 15:30. It cost B800 + 3 ID photo for the basic 4 weeks tourist visa to use within a month from the date of issue.

Cambodia Visa?
The cheapest agencies were quoting B900 plus one ID photo for one working day delivery. Problem with this 1 month visa is that it starts from the date of issue. 45 days visa can also be obtained for the same price but in 2 working days. It seems however possible to have them starting later than the date of issue. The cost at the Embassy (254 6630, just north of Lumphini Park on Ratchadamri Rd) was $20 or B1000 (bad exchange rate) but you will have to come back the next day (same day for $9 extra), it is usually busy and open from 9 to 11am only for applications. At Poipet or Hat Lek borders, the 1 month visa delivered in 5mn cost B1000 plus one photo (in theory, it should also be possible to pay the normal $20 but, in practice, officials insist that you pay in Bahts as the exchange rate is at their advantage and seem to go straight into their pocket). Other scams were also reported at Hat Lek. At the airports of Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, it cost $20 plus 2 photos.
How to keep the low cost even lower ?


Last up date 11-05-2007